is a
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
character who was created for the 66th annual
National Sports Festival of Japan
The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...
and 11th annual National Sports Festival for People with Disabilities which were held in
Yamaguchi prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...
in 2011. After the tournaments, he became head of the Oidemase Yamaguchi Tourism Advertising Department, before becoming the Yamaguchi Prefecture PR General Manager in October 2012.
Outline
Choruru was first introduced on 14 October 2007 at the 'Oidemase! Yamaguchi Kokutai Jump Up Festa 2007'. His design features green antennae which have the shape of the first kanji character for Yamaguchi (山), which catch the abundant energy of the people and nature. His white face is the shape of the second kanji character for Yamaguchi (口), representing the prefecture's name on his head.
The character design was chosen from the 80 entries from a prefecture-wide design contest, with a proposal by
Shunan city based design company Sansou Ltd being used. Although the design for Choruru was actually by Mitsuo Fukunaga, of Shunan city based PH Graphics who submitted the design through Sansou Ltd, when the character was officially announced it was accredited to Sansou Ltd president Hirofumi Shigeoka. A civil trial was brought about by Fukunaga to clarify his position as the creator of Choruru, and in 2011 both parties reached a
settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
* Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fin ...
in which Fukunaga was once again declared as Chorurus "art director-cum-designer". As a further point, due to the submission rules for the design contest, the
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
for Choruru belongs to the Oidemase Yamaguchi National Sports Festival Executive Committee.
His name was based on a modified word form from the
Yamaguchi dialect ~ちょる(~している doing ~), and was selected from the 9,227 entries that were submitted during the open entry session from 14 October to 30 November, while his design was on show. His name was officially decided and announced as "Choruru" in issue 8 of the "Oidemase! Yamaguchi Kokutai" PR Brochure, published in July 2008.
History
Oidemase Yamaguchi National Sports Festival
From 2008 onward, Choruru participated in a range of events across Yamaguchi prefecture in order to promote the National Sports Festival. Various types of promotional material, pamphlets and commemorative merchandise were made using Choruru's image, and even a song (Fight, Choruru!) and dance (Choruru Dance) were created for him. The total sales of related goods, including Choruru National Sports Festival pin badges, topped a ground breaking two hundred and eight million yen.
Oidemase Yamaguchi Year Tourism Exchange Campaign
When the Oidemase Yamaguchi National Sports Festival drew to a close, Choruru's role as the festival mascot also ended. However, from 1 November 2011 he was appointed as "Head of the Oidemase Yamaguchi Tourism Advertising Department", a role to continue the promotion of Yamaguchi prefecture as the mascot for the "Oidemase Yamaguchi Year Tourism Exchange Campaign". Though his role was only supposed to last the duration of the campaign, the then
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Yamaguchi,
Sekinari Nii, announced that there might be other opportunities for Choruru besides just tourism, suggesting that there was potential for Choruru to have a PR role in other campaigns.
Yamaguchi Prefecture PR General Manager
On 13 September 2012 at the Yamaguchi Tourism Commission, Choruru's promotion to Yamaguchi Prefecture PR General Manager, a role not limited to the field of tourism but also to widen the appeal of Yamaguchi Prefecture, was recognised. The official appointment certificate was handed over on 11 October by then
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Shigetarō Yamamoto. It was also at this time that the commercial use for Choruru's character design became available without charge. At least 50 applications for commercial goods such as soft toys and sweets were made within the first month of availability, with applications coming with outside the prefecture from
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
and
Chiba
Chiba may refer to:
Places China
* (), town in Jianli County, Jingzhou, Hubei
Japan
* Chiba (city), capital of Chiba Prefecture
** Chiba Station, a train station
* Chiba Prefecture, a sub-national jurisdiction in the Greater Tokyo Area on ...
prefectures.
Yuru-chara Grand Prix
Voting for the 2012
Yuru-chara
is a Japanese term for a category of mascot characters; usually created to promote a place or region, event, organisation or business. They are characterized by their ''kawaii'' (cute) and unsophisticated designs, often incorporating motifs that ...
Grand Prix opened on 15 September 2012, with Choruru making his first entry into the competition on 20 September, successfully climbing to second place by early October. Even though he called for support by visiting the entrance of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Office, the
Tokuyama Zoo Tokuyama (written: 徳山 literally "virtue mountain") may refer to:
Locations
* Tokuyama Dam, a dam in Gifu Prefecture, Japan
* Tokuyama Domain, a Japanese domain of the Edo period
* Tokuyama Station, a train station in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan ...
in Shunan and so on, the gap between him and the top ranked yuru-chara,
Barysan from
Imabari
270px, Imabari City Hall
270px, Aerial view of Imabari city center
is a city in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. It is the second largest city in Ehime Prefecture. , the city had an estimated population of 152,111 in 75947 households and a population ...
city in
Ehime
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tokush ...
, in terms of votes received was very large. As such, at an emergency press conference held on 19 October at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Office, as well as a declaration of determination for victory, it was announced that Choruru would visit each area of the prefecture on a promotional tour to call for support. When the final results were announced on 25 November 2012, although he could not close the gap on Barysan, he managed to maintain second place having received 462,970 votes.
National Health and Welfare Festival
On 27 November 2012, it was announced that Choruru was selected to be the event mascot for the 28th
National Health and Welfare Festival. It will be held in Yamaguchi prefecture in 2015 under the name .
Hello Kitty Friendship Pact
On 25 February 2013 at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Office, Choruru and
Hello Kitty
, also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...
were joined in a "Friendship Pact".
山口PR本部長・ちょるる、キティと「お友達協定」-コラボグッズ展開など
- (Yamaguchi PR General Manager Choruru and Kitty's Friendship Pact, Developing Collaboration Goods etc) Yamaguchi Ube Keizai Shimbun 16 February 2013 Following the two characters meeting at the 2012 Sanrio Thanks Party, an event held at Sanrio Puroland
, also known as ''Hello Kitty Land'', is an indoor theme park located in Tama New Town, Tokyo, Japan. Opened on December 7, 1990, it hosts attractions, live shows, shopping outlets, and restaurants dedicated to Sanrio characters such as Hello K ...
in December 2012, Yamaguchi began working toward associating with Sanrio
is a Japanese entertainment company. It designs, licenses, and produces products focusing on the ''kawaii'' ("cute") segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts, and accessories which are sold ...
. This was the first such pact Hello Kitty had made with another character. Afterwich both characters worked toward sending joy to people by way of participating in each other's events and collaborating on promotional goods and materials.
See also
*Funassyi
is a fictional Japanese mascot character, unofficially representing the city of Funabashi, Chiba. It was created by a citizen of Funabashi with the objective of cheering up local residents and helping promote her hometown. It has subsequently app ...
*Hikonyan is a mascot created by the city government of Hikone, Japan. He was created in 2007 to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Hikone Castle. The character design is derived from a legend concerning Ii Naotaka, the 3rd Lord of Hikone. The '' ...
* Kigurumi
*Kumamon
Kumamon is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It was created in 2010 for a campaign created to draw tourists to the region after the Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. Kumamon subsequently became nationally popular, an ...
*National Sports Festival of Japan
The is the national premier sports event of Japan. It consists of three stages. The skating and ice hockey stage takes place in January, the skiing stage takes place in February, and the main Autumn tournament takes place in September and Octob ...
References
External links
Official Website
- Official Website
- Yamaguchi Prefecture Tourism Advertising Department
- Yamaguchi Prefecture Public Information Division
Mascot Profile - Choruru
- Oidemase Yamaguchi National Sports Festival Official Website
- Yamaguchi Prefecture International Division
Yamaguchi Prefecture and Choruru
- Yuru-chara and the Japanese Prefectures
*
*
{{Yuru-chara
Male characters in advertising
Yamaguchi Prefecture
Sports mascots
Tourist attractions in Yamaguchi Prefecture
Sport in Yamaguchi Prefecture
Japanese mascots
Mascots introduced in 2011
Fictional characters from Chūgoku